MACON, Ga. — Bibb County's Teacher of the Year says she continues teaching in honor of her mother.
"She said I've been running from it my whole life," said Latanya Singleton Clark.
Her mother, Lynda Singleton, was one of the first school counselors at a Bibb County elementary school. She died just a month ago.
"I started teaching the year my mom retired. My mom was a 30-year retired educator," said Singleton Clark.
She started out her health career working in radiology. In 2012, she started teaching and in 2016, she started teaching in the Bibb County School District. She is now the health science teacher at Northeast High.
"I did all of those years in healthcare to come to my students and bring my experience, my healthcare experience, in the classroom to teach my students," said Singleton Clark.
She says the pandemic changed the way she taught, but the focus is making sure the students are seen and heard. While she won Teacher of the Year, her students say her classroom's got a lot of heart.
"No matter what we have going on outside of school, she always comes to school and makes sure that whatever we're doing is fun, active and engaging," said Northeast senior, Adrian Collins.
"It makes the day better too because some people don't want to come to school. She brings all the joy," said junior, Bryanna Ford.
Clark says the students motivate her to keep teaching.
"They have no idea how much they help me throughout the day."